Jekyll Brewing Redneck Christmas Stout | Alpharetta, GA | B eer Brother Brett gave me a can of this back before Christmas at one of the burn pots. It, along with some other Winter brews, need to be consumed now that Spring is about to spring. I exhausted myself collecting a ton of leaves and doing our neighborhood’s pre-Masters ritual: dodging the pinestraw vendors criss-crossing the neighborhood selling lots of pine straw that looks pretty good but in reality full of trash. I broke down and bought a couple bales and spread them out around the azeleas at the bottom of the driveway. After collecting 10 bags of leaves I was ready for a beer. Mrs. Dan has spent the afternoon getting rid of the pine pollen from the back porch. She wanted a beer as well. I offer her a Jekyll RedNeck Christmas Stout and a Sam Adams Harvest…

[Editor’s Note: For the past 8 years Dan and Mrs. Dan have had a Thanksgiving Thrown Down where they compete to see who makes the best dish. It started with turkeys but with only 3 people 2 turkeys was a bit much in the leftovers department. It was changed last year to be a side dish competition. This year the In-Laws joined the competition.] Les Andes Crémant de Loire | Loire, France and Fess Parker The Big Easy T hanksgiving morning started with a meeting of the Rules Committee. That is actually a committee of one and that’s Mrs. Dan. She had charted the oven/stove time for each contender so that everyone could produce the competing dish in time to hit the table and still be hot. The key here was working around the time oven #1 has the turkey. Mrs. Dan’s entry was a Mushroom Pancetta Risotto.…

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest |Chico, California/ Mills River, NC I ‘m getting ready for Turkey Day. I had to move a bunch of brews out of the little fridge to make room for the 17-pound bird we got. The turkey this year is not part of the Thanksgiving Throw Down. Only side dishes are allowed to be entered in the competition. I realized I still had some Oktoberfest brews in there and decided to have one while I researched for this year’s winning recipe. For once I might finish my fest brews before the Super Bowl hits. I’m also pretending to be working while the Mrs. Dan-in-laws are downstairs clearing a spot for the Christmas tree. I picked out the Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest. I’m surprised. I like this one. I drink Sierra Nevada once in a blue moon. That’s because it is so West Coast bitter that I have to be…

Lazy Magnolia Dubbel Pecan and Jeff Stout Sweet Potato |Kiln, Mississippi I was sitting down to watch the Auburn-Ole Miss game in the tasting room when I realized Little Fridge II hadn’t had any visitors lately. It has been running and running and no one has paid her any attention. I realized I better drink some of the brews in there before I have candidates for the malt vinegar I’m thinking of making. I came across two Lazy Magnolia brews: Dubbel Pecan and Jeff Stout Sweet Potato Cream Stout. I’ve always like their Southern Pecan brew. Very southern especially since they are Mississippi’s oldest brewery. And considering we are playing Ole Miss I thought it appropriate to drink. I picked up both from Wine World, the Dubble Pecan just recently, the Sweet Potato Stout —–hmmm—- some time ago. I started with the Dubbel Pecan. The label says “Southern Pecan Inspired…

Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Wheat For the past few years I typically had pumpkin brews while watching Auburn play football. Since I didn’t enjoy the pumpkin beers so much last year…. not that I didn’t like the beers, I didn’t like the games…. I decided to try other seasonal brews like an Oktoberfest and harvest brews. Well heck. I saw the Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Wheat at Publix and bought a single. I think I paid $1.99. Still cheaper than a bar. Brother Charlie was at the game. He had the advantage of watching it live. I had the advantage of drinking a beer. It also gave me the idea to finally share my photos from a year ago when we visited the new Blue Moon Tasting Room/Brewery in Denver during their soft open. They didn’t have all their taps flowing up front but they had some brews starting up…